War / Peace

Mis-Statements of the Union

by Laura Miller — February 2, 2006 - 7:37pm

Middle East expert and author Stephen Zunes dissected some of George W. Bush's "simplistic formulations" made during the State of the Union (SOTU) address. Bush stated, "there is a difference between responsible criticism that aims for success, and defeatism that refuses to acknowledge anything but failure.

Main Source: 
Foreign Policy in Focus, February 1, 2006

'Arab Spring' Fades From the News

by Bob Burton — January 27, 2006 - 10:12pm

The success of Hamas in the Palestinian elections is the latest election result to temper earlier claims by pundits that a spin-off benefit of the invasion of Iraq would be the flowering of Western-friendly Middle East democracies. Numerous columnists pondered on what they dubbed the "Arab spring." "So what happened to the Arab spring?

Main Source: 
Sydney Morning Herald, January 28, 2006

Ashcroft Group: "Let our Client's Radar Soar"

by Diane Farsetta — January 9, 2006 - 5:34pm

Former U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft's lobbying firm has at least two new clients. Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI) hired the Ashcroft Group "to help secure the U.S. government's approval to sell a weapons system to the South Korean Air Force." Since their early-warning radar system uses U.S.

Main Source: 
The Hill, January 4, 2006

The First Lady's Steely Public Diplomacy

by Diane Farsetta — January 4, 2006 - 11:16am

"At a time when the U.S. is eager to repair its image around the world, the administration has found a willing envoy in Mrs. Bush," who traveled to Afghanistan, the West Bank, Rwanda and Tanzania in 2005. "Increasingly convinced the war on terror won't be won at gunpoint, the administration hopes Mrs. Bush's trips can draw on her domestic popularity to make inroads abroad," writes Christopher Cooper. U.S.

Main Source: 
Wall Street Journal (sub req'd), December 30, 2005

Americans Oppose Fake News in Iraq

by John Stauber — December 23, 2005 - 5:11pm

"Almost three-quarters of Americans think it was wrong for the Pentagon to pay Iraqi newspapers to publish news about U.S. efforts in Iraq, a new USA TODAY/CNN/Gallup Poll shows. USA TODAY reported earlier this month that the Pentagon plans to expand beyond Iraq an anti-terrorism public relations campaign that has included secret payments to Iraqi journalists and publications who printed stories favorable to the USA. ...

Main Source: 
USA Today, December 22, 2005

I Wouldn't Kick Him Out of Embed

by Diane Farsetta — December 16, 2005 - 3:51pm

The U.S. Coalition Forces Land Component Command in Kuwait pulled the credentials of two embedded journalists from the Virginian-Pilot newspaper in Norfolk, Virginia, reportedly for publishing a picture of a bullet-ridden Humvee parked in a Kuwaiti camp.

Main Source: 
Editor & Publisher, December 15, 2005

Afghanistan: The Other Information War

by Diane Farsetta — December 13, 2005 - 6:27pm

Seven months after the "Rendon Group was hired to help Afghan President Hamid Karzai with media relations in early 2004," both Karzai and then-U.S.

Main Source: 
Chicago Tribune, December 13, 2005

The Information War

by Sheldon Rampton — December 11, 2005 - 11:40pm

"The media center in Fayetteville, N.C., would be the envy of any global communications company," writes Jeff Gerth. "In state of the art studios, producers prepare the daily mix of music and news for the group's radio stations or spots for friendly television outlets. Writers putting out newspapers and magazines in Baghdad and Kabul converse via teleconferences. Mobile trailers with high-tech gear are parked outside, ready for the next crisis. ... The center is not part of a news organization, but a military operation, and those writers and producers are soldiers.

Main Source: 
New York Times, December 11, 2005

Target Practice for Military Recruiters

by Diane Farsetta — November 28, 2005 - 3:56pm

The Pentagon's Joint Advertising, Market Research & Studies project has "finely sliced and diced its data enough to determine that the U.S. Army's prospective recruits come from households likely to listen to Spanish radio," while "the reading list at the households of U.S. Marine Corps prospects includes Car Craft, Guns and Ammo and Outdoor Life." Good U.S.

Main Source: 
Advertising Age, November 28, 2005
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